Midwestern State vs Colorado School of Mines
Friday, Nov. 19 - 2 p.m. CST
Mountain Lion Stadium (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
All-Time Series: CSM leads 1-3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Midwestern State (12-4-3, 9-1-3 LSC) returns to the NCAA postseason after a four-year hiatus, traveling to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado School of Mines (12-4-4, 9-2-1 RMAC). The regional first round is hosted by UC-Colorado Springs at Mountain Lion Stadium. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m. central on Friday, Nov. 19.
 
FIVE STORY LINES
1 |  Senior Kelly Cannistra was recently named to the All-Lone Star Conference second team as she continues to lead the Mustangs with eight goals and 17 points on the season. She adds one assist tallied at UT Tyler (10/30). The midfielder's 0.42 goals per game ranks ninth in the LSC. Cannistra is tied for fifth in the conference with fellow teammate Randi Heaton for their three game-winners each. The Gilbert, Ariz., native scored the final goal at UTPB (10/13), West Texas A&M (10/23) and Angelo State (11/06). Cannistra recorded 29 shot attempts and landed 20 on frame for a 0.690 shot on goal percent. The senior registered starts in all 19 matches and totaled 1,317 minutes on the season. In five years at MSU, Cannistra etched her name throughout the Mustangs' record book. She is tied for tenth with 50 career points and 18 career goals. Cannistra also sits tied at 11th and 13th with 14 career assists and six game-winning goals.
 
Reese McDermott leads Colorado School of Mines with eight goals, two assists and 18 points. The freshman recorded 32 shots in 16 starts and drew 18 shots on goal. She has three game-winning goals on the season.

2 |  Fellow All-LSC second team member Cassidy Savoy tops Midwestern State with four assists and sits second on the team with 16 points. Her assists rank 13th in the Lone Star Conference while her total points rank 15th. She notched six goals this season including a pair of game winners against Northwestern Oklahoma State (9/02) and Lubbock Christian (10/27). The sophomore recorded 33 shots placing 14 on frame. Savoy made a season-high five shots versus Eastern New Mexico (9/29) and Oklahoma Christian (10/06) while placing three shots on goal at UT Permian Basin (10/13). Savoy appeared in 18 matches and made 14 starts. In two years at Midwestern State, Savoy owns 28 appearances to register 41 shots and 18 shots on goal. In 1,480 minutes, she owns a 0.439 shot on goal percent.

Emma Peterson and Landry Corbett are tied for the top spot with four assists apiece. Corbett adds two goals for eight points on the year. The sophomore registered 24 shots with 12 finding the target.

3 |  Freshman Lexi Beck notched the opening goal in MSU's 2-3 drop against Texas A&M-Commerce in the Lone Star Conference quarterfinals. This was the midfielder's third tally of the season after completing goals at Northwestern Oklahoma State (9/02) and Eastern New Mexico (9/29). She adds two assists to gain eight points in her first collegiate season. The midfielder leads Midwestern State with 48 shots, sitting twelfth in the LSC. She averages 2.53 attempts per game for a 15th rank in the conference. Her 25 shots on goal and 1.32 average gain 10th and 13th in the Lone Star. Beck posted starts in all 19 matches and totaled 1,663 minutes. She found a spot on the LSC All-Freshman team for the 2021 season.
 
Emma Peterson is also the top shooter for the Mines, tallying 59 shots. The senior found 23 shots on goal with three game-winners. Overall, she sits with four goals and four assists for 12 points.

4 |  The goalkeeping for both teams is tough with both leading their respective conferences in save percent. Midwestern State tops the Lone Star Conference with a 0.839 save percent between Taylor Camp and Lauren Freeman. The two tally a 40th rank in the NCAA. Camp owns a 0.835 percent on saves while Freeman's sits at 0.829. Sierra Roth earned a 0.886 save percent for Colorado School of Mines to top the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The redshirt senior recorded 88 stops in 20 matches for the Mines. She helped the team to a RMAC seventh best 4.65 saves per game. MSU is sixth in the LSC with 5.47 average saves.
 
5 |  The Mustangs and the Mines both competed in their respective conference tournaments last week. MSU fell to Texas A&M-Commerce in the quarterfinal round while CSOM made it past Westminster in 3-0 penalty kicks. The Mines eventually fell to UC-Colorado Springs in the semifinal by a 0-1 score. Midwestern State was the second seed in the LSC tournament and Colorado School of Mines took the number three spot.

HEAD COACH RYAN SPENCE is in the midst of his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. In the 2020 season, he led the Mustangs to the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. As a player, Spence helped the Mustangs dominate in his four years on the field. He earned All-American from 2008-11 and helped the team reach the Final Four in 2010. His center back prowess assisted in gaining 35 shutouts in his tenure. After graduating with a bachelor's degree, he gained his masters from MSU in 2014-15. From there, Spence moved on as assistant coach at Texas A&M International in 2016 and head coach at Eastern New Mexico in 2017 before coming back to Midwestern State in 2018.

SERIES WITH THE MINES

Midwestern State and Colorado School of Mines have four previous match-ups, including the 2-0 defeat for the Mines earlier in the season (9/10). The two teams played to a 3-1 series with the Orediggers grabbing the lead. The Mustangs tallied the first win in 2008 with a 2-1 victory in Golden, Colo. Colorado School of Mines took the next two matches, both in 2017. The only other neutral match was on Nov. 9, 2017, when the teams met in Dallas, Texas to play to a 0-1 loss for MSU. Friday's match will be the first neutral site game for each team this season.